Vacuum fluid lift



Dec. 24, 1935. J. CAMPBELL 2,025,644

VACUUM FLUID LIFT Original Filed Feb. 28. 1954 Azz/%e/" 62/77 066 NNNNNN OR A? BY m a Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES ATENT QFEQE VACUUM FLUID LIFT Luther J. Campbell, Hobbs, N. Mex., assignor to E. B. Gilmore, Oklahoma City, Okla.

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a vacuum fluid lift and more especially to a lift for use in oil wells.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character, wherein fluid within a well will be lifted under the action of an impeller, the same being driven by gas or air under pressure, the impeller being provided with ablade formation or a spiral which reduces friction to a minimum and causes a force to radiate outwardly toward the outer edge of the blade or spiral, thereby increasing the work performed on the impeller and at the same time increasing the velocity of the flow therethrough, so that a constant flow is assured, with the result that a steady stream of fluid will be brought to the surface, with elimination of the heads usually encountered with the general air or gas lifts.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character, wherein the assembly is such as to avoid close fitting parts with resultant rapid wear thereof and necessitating frequent repairs, there being a fluid seal between the blade or spiral of the impeller and the wall of its working barrel, and the disposition of the blade or spiral is such that all com}- ponents of energy are converted into centrifugal force when leaving the impeller, and friction being reduced to a minimum assures a steady and constant flow of fluid for the lifting thereof from within a Well.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character, which is extremely simple in construction, thoroughly reliable and efficient in its purposes, durable, economical in the upkeep, and inexpensive to manufacture and install.

With these .and other objects in View, the invention consists in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which discloses the preferred embodiment of the invention, and pointed out in the claims hereinto appended.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fluid lift device constructed in accordance with the invention and the same being partly in vertical section.

Figure 2 is a top: plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 3-3 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view through the eduction pipe or working barrel and the impeller.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the fluid lift device comprises a tubular working barrel or eduction pipe I!) having arranged therein an impeller II which, at its lower end, has integral therewith a thrust annulus I2, while the lower extremity of the arbor of this impeller is of tapered formation, as at I3, and slightly protrudes beyond said annulus I 2, the barrel or pipe Ill being threaded into a coupling I4 which is also joined with an ejector I5 of any conventional type having the side nipple I6 for union with a fluid conduit (not shown).

Arranged parallel with the barrel or pipe In, at one side thereof, is an air or gas feed pipe I! which at its lower end, through the L unions I8 and I9, respectively, has connection and communication with and through the lower end of the ejector I5.

The pipe I 0 at the end 29 joined with the coupling I4 forms interiorly of the latter a shoulder between which and the annulus I2 of the impeller I I is arranged an antifriction thrust bearing 2| for said impeller II, the upper end of the impeller being free and terminating flush with the upper open end of the barrel or pipe I0, as will be apparent from Figure 1 of the drawing.

The impeller I I has a spiral or screw-like blade formation 22, the working surface: 23 or the side thereof which the vertically moving flow collar impinges upon having a taper from one-quarter inch to one-sixteenth inch from the arbor to the outer edge, and this outer edge being made a tangent to the outer cylindrical area of the, barrel or pipe it], so that a high velocity column of gas or gas and air and liquid issuing from the ejector I5 impinges on the spiral or screw formation of the impeller II, so that the full extent thereof will be utilized in throwing the fluid out radially and the centrifugal force will be at a maximum so that the upward thrust of the force from the ejector acting on the spiral or screw formation will cause the annulus I2 to thrust against the bearing 2| and friction will be reduced to a minimum, so that all components of energy are converted into centrifugal force when leaving the impeller. The centrifugal motion of the fluid mixture when leaving said impeller is a free vortex flow, rendering the device a constant flow tool and bringing the fluid to the surface in a steady stream, the vacuum created by the device both at the point of entrance to the ejector I5 and the motion of the the motion of the fluid, eliminating back pressure.

The ejector inv the working thereof is the source of driving energy for the impeller II and the pressure of the feed of fluid from the pipe I! to the ejector I5 directs the liquid into the path of the impeller for the lifting operation of such liquid or the mixture of the fluid and liquid, the fluid being either gas or air.

The spiral or screw formation of the impeller reduces friction to a. minimum, this being by reason of the back of the spiral or screw formation being made a tangent to the true circle of the barrel or pipe I0, while the taper of such spiralor screw formation at the working side of the same should tend to cause the force to radiate outwardly'toward the outer edge of said spiral or screw formation, with the result of an' increase in the velocity of the flow of fluid through the impeller and the diversion of all force into a greater radius in this outward direction.

The working side of the impeller is tapered or rounded off to a degree that there will be virtually no impact of the fluid pressure upon a flat or normal plane, this taper, or rounding being on the" outside of the blade of the impeller or that side of its blade which is a tangent to the true cylindrical area. As has been stated, the ejector I5 in the coupling for the fluid supply through inlet I6 is of a conventional kind and the discharge nozzle of said ejector, as indicated at 24, discharges its fluid pressure directly upon the bladesof the rotor I I. The gas feed pipe I! runs up alongside the barrel or pipe II) to which it is adapted to be strapped to a point above the static fluid level in the well and terminates at this end in a perforated nipple (not shown). Gas or air or both are pumped into the annularspace between the tubing or the small string of pipe which is used to carry the fluid: to the surface and the casing, where sufficient pressure is built up to start the flow through the device, the pressure passing downward through the pipe I'I, street elbows I8' and I9 and the ejector I5. The kinetic energy developed in the nozzle of the ejector I5 creates a suction or vacuum at the inlet I6 and, as stated above, the fluid pressure passing from the discharge nozzle of the ejector impinges directly on the blades of the impeller II which converts all components of energy into centrifugal force upon leaving the same.

The solid liquid to be pumped is drawn in through the inlet I6 and mixed with the gas or air or both in the'discharge nozzle 24 of the ejector I5 and is discharged against the blades beyond the impeller. However, no fixed length for the impeller can be stated, as for pumping fluid from great depths it might be advisable to use a longer impeller, depending, of course, upon several factors, namely, the diameter of the pump that would be most economical for the specific installation considering the amount of fluid to be lifted, the depth to: be lifted and the conservation of the lifting energy. The diameter of the impeller I I governs the length of the same for any given number of spirals, that is. to say, a rotor three inches in diameter with blades constructed on an angle of forty degrees and having ten. complete spirals would be much longer than one constructed likewise and being only one and one-half inches in diameter.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a working barrel, a spirally bladed impeller within said barrel, an ejector in advance of the impeller, a coupling joining the barrel and ejector, a thrust annulus formed at the end of the impeller next to the ejector, a thrust bearing between the annulus and the working barrel next thereto, a fluid feed pipe communicating with the ejector at the lowermost end thereofland means for delivering liquid into the ejector at one side thereof, the working side of the blade of the impeller being tapered from the arbor of said impeller to the outer edge of said blade and disposed at a tangent to the outer cylindrical area of the barrel.

2. A device of the character described com 7 prising a working barrel, a spirally bladed impeller within said barrel, an ejector in advance of the impeller, a coupling joining the barrel and ejector, a thrust annulus formed at the end of the impeller next to the ejector, a thrust bearing between the annulus and the working barrel next thereto, a fluid feed pipe communicating with the ejector at the lowermost end thereof, means for delivering liquid into the ejector at one side thereof, and a working surface formed on the blade of the impeller at a tangent to the outer circular formation of the barrel, the said working surfacefurther being angled from the arbor of the impeller to the outer edge of said blade.

3. A device of the character described comprising a working barrel, a spirally bladed impeller within said barrel, an ejector in advance of the impeller, a coupling joining the barrel and ejector, a thrust annulus formed at the end of the impeller next to the ejector, a thrust bearing between the annulus and the working barrel next thereto, a fluid feed pipe communicating with the ejector at the lowermost end thereof, means for delivering liquid into theejector at one side thereof, a working surface formed on the blade of the impellerat a tangent to the outer circular formation of the barrel, and a downwardly tapered lower terminal at the center of said impeller to be disposed in confronting relation to the ejector.

' LU H R J CAMPBELL. 

